Mystery: The correct pronunciation of David Bowie's surname has long been a source of speculation

Ever since David Bowie rose to fame five decades ago, fans have struggled with how to pronounce his unusual surname.

The star tended to pronounce his own name - which he adopted at the age of 18 - to rhyme with 'showy' or 'snowy', rather than like 'wow-ee'.

However, he once admitted he had no idea how it should be said, suggesting that because of the name's Scottish origins it should really be 'boo-ee'.

Bowie, who died on Friday of cancer at the age of 69, would have had no problems pronouncing the name he was born with - David Jones.

But as he began his career in the mid-1960s, he decided he needed a new moniker so as to avoid confusion with Davy Jones, a member of the Monkees.

He chose the name David Bowie because of the Bowie knife, a fixed-blade weapon which was popular on the American frontier during the 18th century.

During a 1976 interview, he said his stage name was inspired by 'the ultimate American knife', adding that he used his Bowie identity as 'the medium for a conglomerate of statements and illusions'.

The Bowie knife, named after Texan pioneer Jim Bowie, is usually pronounced 'boh-ee' or sometimes 'boo-ee'.

Video footage of the rock star saying his own surname shows clearly that he nearly always pronounced it 'boh-ee'.

Admission: When Jeremy Paxman challenged Bowie on how to pronounce his name, the star said he did not know for sure

The name he gave to his son, Zowie Bowie, relies on that pronunciation, because Zowie is supposed to be said like 'Zoe' and the couplet is meant to rhyme.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Zowie Bowie later rejected the name his father had given him, and is now known as Duncan Jones.

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David Bowie does not seem to have minded when his name was mispronounced - and even suggested that he did not know the right answer himself.

In 2000 he was being interviewed by Jeremy Paxman when the BBC presenter asked: 'Do you think of yourself as Bowie [pronounced like "wow-ee"] or as David Jones, the boy from South London?'

Pun: Bowie originally named his son, left, Zowie but the director now calls himself Duncan Jones

FOUR WAYS TO SAY 'BOWIE'

Boh-ee: First syllable like a violin bow; rhymes with 'snowy' or 'showy'

Bow-ee: First syllable like the bow of a ship; rhymes with 'wow-ee'

Boo-ee: First syllable like the noise a ghost makes; rhymes with 'Louis'

Boy: Like the Cornish village of Fowey, which is pronounced 'foy' 

The star replied: 'Less and less as Bowie [like "boh-ee"], Bowie [like "wow-ee"], Bowie [like "boo-ee"] - I don't even know how to pronounce it any more, I've lost track.

'I always thought it was "boh-ee", I thought it's a Scottish name, it must be "boh-ee", but no-one in Scotland pronounces it like that, they pronounce it "boo-ee" I think.'

The original name, which originates from Scotland and Ireland and has Gaelic roots, can be pronounced in any of the three ways.

Some fans expressed frustration at the situation this week - comedian Iain Lee asked, 'Before he passed, did he ever tell us how to pronounce Bowie/Bowie?'

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